Spring Break-ish

We are in our family's final week of spring break.  Yep, this year, spring break was spread over three consecutive weeks, which I suppose is better than the years it was spread over six weeks!

I had the first spring break, which pretty much felt like any regular week except that I was also off on Thursday and Friday.

Eric and I tried to make the most of my days off during his break.  We did a few projects around the house, plus he did additional projects, like installing a new and improved utility sink in the basement (with some assistance from my dad) and redoing a line on the front yard sprinklers with his brother and dad.

One morning, Eric and I got breakfast at Julienne's in San Marino and then walked around Pasadena for a little while.  We checked out Pasadena City Hall and the old post office.  The architecture is just so beautiful!

 Robinson brothers memorial

There was time to just hang out and let the kids enjoy being kids (thanks to a lighter homework load).  Here's Pippa on my leg, as we watched Carter ride his scooter on the sidewalk.

 I love that kid and how he looks for the beauty of nature.  He takes time to stop and smell the roses.  He was doing this on his own:

The kids' first day of spring break began on April 1st, as their district celebrates Cesar Chavez Day on the Friday that leads into Spring Break.  I switched work days with Tracey so we could whisk the kids off to a quick get-away to San Diego.  We left when I got home from work (and I left early for me!), so we hit pretty bad Thursday traffic and arrived in San Diego close to 7pm.  After checking into our hotel, we walked to the nearby Gaslamp Quarter for a late dinner at a trendy Mexican restaurant.  

 Our hotel was right near Petco Park.

 Early morning view

 We picked up breakfast at the Starbucks that was at our hotel.

 We had a cool view of the giant Dole ship as it unloaded and loaded in the port.

Friday morning was spent at the hotel pool.  It was early, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

 Getting to push the elevator button never gets old!

 There are many reminders around San Diego that it is a military city.  This was from our hotel room's window.

 The view of downtown from the hotel.  San Diego is a pretty city!

 Ashlynn sported a new outfit, that included white capris (yikes!) and a hat I picked up from Target.  I was happy to find her a cute hat.  Since she wears glasses, she can't also wear sunglasses, so it was nice to get a hat to reduce the exposure and glare.  I thought she looked pretty cute!

 After lunch at Cheesecake Factory, we walked around Seaport Village.

The big activity of the day was our tour of the USS Midway.  We picked up the audio tour, which our kids always do a great job using.  They also picked up a kids' activity pack to complete.  It pulled their attention to important topics but took a lot of time.  By the time we got to the top deck (with the airplanes helicopters, and takeoff/ landing strip), it was nearly three hours and they were pretty tired and bored.  It is a fascinating place, but maybe too much for kids for so long.  

 24 hour clock

 Since the kids completed the kids activity packet, they earned their Junior Pilot flight pin.  The veteran working the booth made a little ceremony for them.

We ended our San Diego stay with some time at Balboa Park.  

On Sunday we celebrated my dad's birthday.  The kids have fun at my parents' house, especially when they get to do things like climb trees.  Here's Carter at the top of their fig tree:

 They also get to visit with my parents' animals, including their cat, Mocha.  Having been found in the parking lot of Starbucks by my brother, Mocha is a bit skiddish, but she lets the kids love on her.

 On Monday the kids wanted to just stay at home but I got them out for a little while for a picnic at Library Park.  We picked up food from the local Cuban bakery (love potato balls!) and found a shady spot in front of the library.  It was a perfect picnic day.  We were even serenaded by a group of high school kids who were sitting nearby and singing with a ukelele.

 Pippa was quite happy to join us.

 Ashlynn went into the library and checked out a few books for her brother and herself.  They spent quite a lot of time reading in that shady spot.

 The following day we joined our friends, the Heatherlys, for time at Lacy Park, followed by lunch at Twohey's.

 Ashlynn and Julia

 Meril joked that the candy dots are not part of her 30 day cleanse.  :)

 So, we didn't have a spring break in the traditional sense, but we had fun on our spring break-ish!